Decarbonising Danish Export Credits

(Just Finance International, Aarhus, 25 May 2021) A forthcoming report from Just Finance International outlines recommendations to the Danish government for plans to phase out fossil fuel support for its export credit agency (ECA) Eksport Kredit Fonden (EKF) and also for its broader international public finance support. Public development funds are meant to benefit people, climate and environment, but in reality they support some of the most destructive activities on earth. Coal power is the world’s most polluting energy source, and the largest contributor to climate change. Yet public funds are still financing new investments in coal and other highly polluting industries. In response to worsening climate change, the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has announced that financial and governmental support of high-emission sectors must be decreased, and climate resilience increased. The UN IPCC has made clear that all untouched fossils must stay in the ground and all subsidies must stop if the Paris climate goals are to be  reached. In line with the Paris Agreement goals, governments and their institutions worldwide are taking steps to phase out fossil fuels. In this report, a screening of Danish ECA EKF’s portfolio shows that while its investments in fossil fuels are limited, it has several projects in high-greenhouse gas emission (GHG) sectors such as cement, hydropower and mining, and in the livestock and chemical sectors. It is also likely to increase its involvement in cement and hydropower in the coming years. Because export credit agencies are demand-driven, their portfolios reflect the applications they receive. Clear regulations are essential to prevent ECA support for fossil fuels and other high-emission sectors in the future.

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